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Bring back Rs 25 lakh crore black money from abroad: Oppn NEW DELHI: The issue of black money dominated in the Lok Sabha today with the Opposition asking the government to bring back an estimated Rs 25 lakh crore stashed away illegally in foreign banks and reveal identity of depositors. Moving an adjournment motion on the issue, the first in the current Lok Sabha, BJP veteran L. K. Advani also wanted a White Paper on the magnitude of the black money menace and steps taken by the government to tackle it. "Tell the world that we are willing to place all the cards on the table. We have nothing to hide," Advani told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee who were present in the House. "Reveal the names you have. It will be a humiliation if we don't get to know them from our Prime Minister or our Finance Minister and come to know from the Wikileaks as (its owner) Julius Assange has said he has the names and would reveal them in 2012," Advani said. The Chairman of the BJP Parliamentary Party said his party agreed with the estimate of an international think-tank — Global Financial Integrity — that Rs 25 lakh crore had been illegally stashed away abroad by Indians. The adjournment motion was on the situation arising out of money deposited illegally in foreign banks and action being taken against the guilty persons. Following an agreement between the government and the BJP, the motion did not speak of "government failure". The BJP leader, however, insisted that the admission of the motion was itself reflective of government's failure on the issue "no matter even if the wording of the motion has undergone a change. Adjournment motion is a failure of the government and your (Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar) acceptance only testifies my view that it the government's failure". — PTI 
US: No cut in aid to Pak Washington: In a bid to mollify a key ally, the United States has clarified that it has not cut aid to Pakistan and a proposed legislation only links it to checking the spread of home made bombs. "Well, first of all, just to clarify what has and hasn't happened here, in our understanding, we have not cut $700 million in aid to Pakistan," state department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters on Tuesday in response to a question. Congressional panel had on Monday agreed to freeze $700 million in US aid to Pakistan unless it helps in the fight against improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the region as part of a defence bill that is expected to be passed this week. "What we have is something on the defence authorization bill, which is currently moving in the Congress," Nuland said."So, if this legislation becomes law, we'll work with the Government of Pakistan on how we can fulfil the requirements. But, this requires us to maintain a strategic perspective and to be clear with our Congress about the strategy," she said.
Petrol prices may go up by 65 paise from Friday NEW DELHI: Petrol prices may be hiked by Rs 0.65 per litre this week if state-owned oil firms manage to get political approval for the move. While a fall in the rupee to an all-time low of Rs 53.75 per US dollar has resulted in an increase in the cost of oil imports, international rates of gasoline—against which domestic petrol prices are benchmarked—have also increased, a top source at a state-run oil firm has said. "The under-recovery on petrol is Rs 0.55-0.56 per litre. After adding local sales tax, the desired increase in Delhi comes to Rs 0.65-0.66 a litre," he said, adding that the oil companies would review prices tomorrow and any change would be effective from December 16. State-owned oil firms have cut petrol prices on two occasions in the past one month after international oil rates eased. The companies reduced petrol prices by Rs 2.22 per litre, or 3.2 per cent, from November 16 and followed this with a Rs 0.78 per litre cut from December 1. The source, however, could not say if oil companies would go ahead with increasing prices tomorrow, in line with the practice of changing rates every fortnight. "The actual loss to us is only 50-55 paise. We can tolerate it for another fortnight if need be," he said. Public sector oil firms, which revise petrol prices on the 1st and 16th of every month based on the average international rates of the previous fortnight, may informally consult the parent Petroleum Ministry before taking a decision. Parliament is in session and an increase in petrol prices may lead to protests by Opposition parties. The price of gasoline has averaged USD 111.11 per barrel in Singapore this month, up from USD 108.25 a barrel in the previous fortnight. — PTI
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